Sep 21, 2009
ARLINGTON, VA — September 21, 2009 — Risk management, loss prevention and safety professionals in the supermarket industry will meet March 14-17, 2010, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Dallas, TX for the new Asset Protection Conference developed by the Food Marketing Institute (FMI).

     The new educational conference merges two annual conferences that focused separately on loss prevention, risk management and safety issues. The four-day event will examine current industry issues and new trends. The sessions and roundtable discussions will focus on strategies for reducing costs and identifying missed revenue opportunities.

     “Supermarkets have many assets to protect: associates, customers, reputation, and property,” said Steve King, Director, Corporate Risk Management, The Kroger Co. and chairman of the FMI Risk, Insurance and Safety Management Committee. “Combining the two educational conferences into one really makes sense because there is a lot of crossover between the two departments in the industry. The Asset Protection Conference gives us the opportunity to work collaboratively on common issues such as crisis management and incident investigation.”     
          
     The four-day event will examine current industry issues and new trends. The sessions and roundtable discussions will focus on strategies for reducing costs and identifying missed revenue opportunities.

“Our teams work closely to prevent loss throughout the organization and to minimize the impact of any incident on our business operations,” said John Guenther, director of loss prevention for Heinen’s Fine Foods, Inc. and chairman of the FMI Loss Prevention Committee. “The new conference is a great way to strengthen the relationships of teams responsible for protecting all of the organization’s assets.”

The conference will include hands-on exercises featuring real-world supermarket crisis situations. Attendees will have opportunities to meet peers and colleagues with similar backgrounds and explore exhibits featuring the latest trends in safety, loss prevention and risk management. The general sessions will cover topics of interest to everyone including:


  • Food defense

  • Crisis management

  • Incident investigation

  • Breaking internal silos

The program incorporates interactive breakout sessions and discussion groups on key issues including:


  • Property loss

  • Light duty fleet safety

  • The impact of the aging workforce

  • Distribution center security

  • Training for first responders

  • Financial Fraud

  • Slip/fall prevention

  • Managing injury repeaters

  • OSHA trends and inspection strategies

Vice Presidents, directors, managers and industry executives with responsibility for shrink, safety/security, insurance, food defense, workers’ compensation, loss prevention, risk management and crisis management/business continuity are encouraged to attend. Visit http://www.fmi.org/forms/meeting/MeetingFormPublic/view?id=4DD50000000ED    or contact Aileen Dullaghan Munster at 202.220.0704 or amunster@fmi.org for more information.

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Food Marketing Institute (FMI) conducts programs in public affairs, food safety, research, education and industry relations on behalf of its 1,500 member companies — food retailers and wholesalers — in the United States and around the world. FMI’s U.S. members operate approximately 26,000 retail food stores and 14,000 pharmacies. Their combined annual sales volume of $680 billion represents three-quarters of all retail food store sales in the United States. FMI’s retail membership is composed of large multi-store chains, regional firms and independent supermarkets. Its international membership includes 200 companies from more than 50 countries. FMI’s associate members include the supplier partners of its retail and wholesale members.